


Maybe

by PaintedVanilla



Series: me and my love [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College, F/M, First Dates, First Meetings, French Characters, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Pining, Playing Hard to Get, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Frustration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-23 12:32:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13190166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedVanilla/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: She said maybe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i don't really like it when people cram random pieces of other languages in when they're writing characters who are bilingual, because People Don't Talk Like That, so i ripped the strategy I'm using here from my translation of war and peace. i love what it does, because it says stuff like "the invitation was written in french" and then shows you what the invitation says in english, or it says "Marya Dmitrievna always spoke russian" but obviously her dialogue is written in english because it's an english translation. so that's what im using here because i think it's a good way to establish that another language is being spoken without forcing your reader to copy and paste every other line into google translate.
> 
> also the grammar mistakes when laf and adrienne are talking (in english) are intentional. can't be expected to get everything right all the time.
> 
> thank you for reading!

When Laf opens the door to the apartment, he heaves a very dramatic sigh as a display for whoever happens to be sitting on the couch. Lucky for him, it’s quite the full house, as Burr and Theodosia are occupying the single and Hercules is perched on one end of the couch. 

Hercules raises his eyebrows at Laf’s dramatism, “What’s wrong?” he asks, all three of them looking at him.

Laf shuts the door and huffs, stepping further into the room, “The gorgeous girl in history and appreciation of art.”

Hercules hums, “What about her?”

“Let me guess, she’s already in a relationship?” Burr asks.

Laf shoots him a glance, “Like that would stop  _ you.”  _ he says, and Burr rolls his eyes; Laf continues, “I went up to her after class today because we’ve been making eyes at each other for weeks. And I introduced myself and she told me her name was Adrienne.”

“Sounds French.” Burr comments.

“That’s what I said.” Laf tells him, “and she said she is French, so we started talking in French. And we were going back and forth for a little bit and then I said something like,” he pauses, trying to translate in his head, “like, well I know why you’re taking this class, because you’re art and I appreciate you very much.”

Theodosia laughs, and Laf frowns at her, “It sounded better when I said it in French, English ruins everything.” he tells her, and she waves him off.

“What did she say?” Hercules asks, knowing the story must be going in a different direction based on Laf’s disgruntledness.

Laf pauses for emphasis, “She said,  _ I know.”  _ he says, and Hercules grins, “and I was like, okay hot. So I asked her out and she said  _ maybe.” _

Burr muffles his laugh in his girlfriend’s shoulder and Hercules smiles even wider. Theodosia says, “Well, it’s not a no.”

“But it’s also not a  _ yes.”  _ Laf insists, “one or the other is more simple than a  _ maybe.  _ I don’t even have her number, and I don’t see her until next week.”

Hercules shrugs, “Guess you’ll just have to wait until next week.”

Laf huffs then rubs his face; when he looks back up he frowns, “Where is Jack and Alexander?”

“Their room.” Theodosia says.

“Probably getting stoned.” Burr adds.

“And you know what  _ that  _ means.” Hercules says, “Zero out of ten, would not recommend trying to go in their room right now.”

“I thought Alex was trying to get a date with that freshman he met at the Dunkin Donuts last month.” Laf says.

“Oh, he still is.” Hercules says, “I think John is trying to distract him from that.”

Laf hums, “Okay, I’m going to go in our room.” he says.

“Work on your strategy for Adrienne?” Theodosia asks; Laf just hums again and doesn’t elaborate a response.

…

Turns out Lafayette doesn’t need a strategy, because Adrienne slides into the seat next to him before class starts the next week and says, in French, “I’ve decided you can go on a date with me.”

Laf tries not to look as startled as he feels; he answers in French, “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Adrienne continues, “you can pick me up at six o’clock at my dorm room and decide where we’re going, but you have to take my outfit into account because I don’t want to be over or underdressed for where we go.”

“Okay.” Laf says, trying not to show how excited he is; his enthusiasm still shines in his eyes, “what will you be wearing?”

“You’ll see.” Adrienne says coyly, and Laf feels almost dizzy for a moment over what  _ that  _ could imply, but before he can respond she pulls a slip of paper out of her pocket and sets it in front of him. Then she stands, winks at him, and makes her way back across the room before someone steals her unassigned assigned seat.

The slip of paper has her dorm information on it, but nothing else. Still no phone number, and not even a last name. He folds it and slides it carefully into his pocket and has a hard time focusing on the lesson.

…

When Lafayette picks Adrienne up for their date (after going home and showering and shaving and changing and bragging to every one of his roomates that he had a  _ date  _ with  _ Adrienne)  _ she’s wearing a dress that’s not terribly fancy and not terribly casual, which works well with what Laf had decided to wear. The dress is also terribly flattering on her, accentuating each and every one of her curves which he has not yet had time to admire while they made eyes at each other in the classroom. He also notices right away that she’s wearing heels that make her just as tall as he is, which makes him feel a number of different ways.

He clears his throat when he catches himself staring and she raises his eyebrows at him, “Are you okay?” she asks, speaking English.

“You look great.” Laf says, trying to keep himself from going in too deep, too quick; he can feel himself struggling to translate everything he wants to say in his head, so instead of attempting English he switches back to French, “What kind of food do you like to eat?”

Adrienne shrugs, and reciprocates the change in language, “I’m fine with wherever you’re thinking of taking me.”

Laf is thinking of taking her a lot of places, in a lot of different ways, but thankfully Adrienne’s unseen roommate stops him from voicing such a thought when she yells, “In or out, bitch! Close the door!”

Adrienne glares back into the room and shuts the door, a little forcefully, but when she looks back at Laf she smiles, and he feels his heart leap in his chest a little bit.

“Should we go?” Adrienne asks, holding out her arm, and Laf takes hold of it a bit eagerly.

…

Lafayette doesn’t get Adrienne anywhere near her dorm room until almost one in the morning, because they keep finding more thing to  _ talk  _ about. They both grew up in France, Lafayette in Bretagne and Adrienne in Rhône-Alpes, and neither of them had had a single person to speak to about most experiences one could expect to have growing up in France, not had either of them encountered someone with whom they could speak unfaltering French to without having to pause for the other person to translate it in their head. 

Lafayette found it to be incredibly refreshing, as did Adrienne. As it was, she was shaping up to be one of the best dates he’d ever gone on, and certainly one of the longest ones he’d ever had leading up to a hookup. Or at least, that was where he hoped they were headed as he walked her back to her dorm room.

“I had a wonderful time.” Adrienne says in French; Laf’s jacket is draped over her shoulder, and he thinks she might be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

She’s leaned against the wall next to the door to her dorm room; Laf figures if there’s a time to make it clear he wants this to continue, it’s right now. He steps closer to her, placing his hand on the wall behind her. “As did I.” he returns, and then leans in close to her.

Adrienne presses one of her hands to his shoulder, pushing against him, and he stops. She stares at him, then says in English, “What? Do you think I am a slut?”

Laf’s eyes go wide; he pulls himself off of her and stutters, “No!” he says quickly, “no, no, of course not, no.”

The look on her face changes from one of offense to a devious smile, “That’s a shame.” she says, “because I am.”

Laf blinks at her, “What?”

“I have a lot of sex,” she says bluntly, “I had had sex last night with the girl who sits two rows right in front of you in history and appreciation.”

Lafayette can feel himself blushing; he looks away from her, “Oh.”

“Don’t  _ act  _ surprised, you were just now trying to do the same thing.” Adrienne points out; when Laf doesn’t look back up at her she grabs him by the belt loops of his pants and pulls him flush against her, her back pressed to the wall. Laf meets her eye and presses his forehead against hers; she slips her hands into his back pockets and he almost whines.

“Were you just trying to fuck me?” Adrienne asks, and her bluntness is wonderful in a terrible way and Lafayette knows she’s going to know exactly how he feels about it because he’s pressed right up against her.

He takes a moment to respond, because he’s so close to her and she  _ smells  _ so good and he rests his hands on her hips and says slowly, “I do want to have sex with you.” he pauses, “but I think you knew that.” another pause, “But I also want you to know that you’re very gorgeous, and it’s so wonderful to talk to you, and even if you had left me with nothing more than a goodbye and certainly not  _ this,  _ I would not have been mad. I would still want to be around you and hopefully get to know who you are and not have you become a beautiful stranger again.”

Adrienne watches him for a moment; his eyes are closed and his forehead is still pressed against hers, and then she smiles softly. She squeezes his ass once and he groans, and then she takes her hands out of his back pockets and instead runs them through his hair, “I was hoping you would say something like that.”

Laf opens his eyes to look at her, and she smiles even wider at him, “I’m not going to have sex with you, Gilbert.” she pauses, “can I call you Gilbert?”

The sound of his real name being said the way it’s supposed to be said, and by such a beautiful voice no less, combined with the sensation of her slowly combing her nails over his scalp, is responsible for most of his blood running south. “Yes, please.” he says, his voice a little strained.

“Gilbert,” she says again, and he presses against her a little more, his eyes lidded, “You’re very charming, and you’re very beautiful, and I want nothing more than to pull you into my bed and let you have your way with me, but I want to see where this goes first.”

She moves then, tilts her neck and presses a kiss to Lafayette’s jaw, and he tilts his head up and prays she continues, but instead she pushes him back, drapes his jacket over his shoulders, unlocks her door, bids him goodnight, and disappears.

Laf puts his jacket back on after a moment, a little stunned, not necessarily over the fact that that did not go at  _ all  _ like he had planned it, but rather how she orchestrated the entire thing so seamlessly and managed to make him melt into a puddle the entire time. He stays outside her dorm for a few minutes waiting for his erection to go away, and then he starts on his way back to his car.

…

When he gets back to the apartment, he’s only just locked the door when a voice says, “So how did it go?”

Laf starts and turns around to find John standing in the dark kitchen, holding a glass of water and wearing only his underwear. Laf sighs and sets his keys down in the bowl, “You scared the shit out of me.” he says quietly.

“Sorry.” John says, taking a sip as Laf walks over to him, “but seriously how did it go.”

“Good.” Laf says, honestly, and John raises his eyebrows.

“You just came home at two in the morning and you don’t have sex hair.” he observed.

“It still went good.” he promises, and John looks a little closer at him and then taps his own jaw on the left side, a knowing grin on his face. Laf ignores him, and instead turns back around, “I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight, lover boy.” John says, and Laf flips him off.

Hercules is dead asleep in their bed - he probably assumed Laf wouldn’t be coming home tonight - so Laf just decides to strip down to his briefs and knock out with him. He’s so tired that when he’s dumping his clothes in the laundry basket he almost doesn’t notice the slip of paper sticking out of his back pocket, but when he reaches down to pull it back out, his eyes have adjusted just enough for him to know that it’s a phone number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the french pronunciation of gilbert is "gill-bear" with a soft g (correct me if im wrong)


	2. Chapter 2

Lafayette finds it difficult to wait a reasonable amount of time before texting Adrienne. He puts her number in his phone in the morning when he wakes up; his moving around wakes Hercules because he wasn’t expecting to find him in the bed with him.

While Laf is still facing away from him and messing with his phone, Hercules asks, “So you failed?”

Laf rolls his eyes, “I did not fail.”

“And yet here you are.” Hercules points out.

“We’re going on another date,” Laf snaps, even though that’s not necessarily true. At least, not yet it isn’t; he’s hoping that’s what Adrienne was alluding to when she said she wanted to see where things went.

He manages to avoid the bulk of ridicule by getting dressed and leaving the apartment immediately; Burr, Alex and Theodosia are the only ones in the kitchen when he grabs his keys, and Alex is the only one who manages to get a comment in quick enough.

Laf spends the next two days waiting for the right time to reach out to Adrienne; he usually doesn’t _have_ this kind of problem, since reaching out to people he’s only trying to hook up with is often just a matter of waiting until he was horny again. An actual date, though, is something he has to time well; he doesn’t want to come across as eager as he is.

He ends up texting her late one night while he can’t sleep; Hercules is out, so he has the bed to himself, and he’s curled up messing around on his phone when he finally texts her: _“Can we go out again? Please?”_

It’s late, so he’s not expecting a response when his phone buzzes: _“Maybe.”_

Laf puts his phone down on his pillow and rubs his eyes, but he picks it back up when it buzzes again, _“Talk to me before class on Tuesday.”_

Laf can’t read her tone, so he texts back _“okay”_ and tries to go to sleep.

…

Adrienne is waiting for him when he gets to class, sitting in the seat next to his usual spot. He slides in next to her and she smiles; she doesn’t waste her breath on small talk, “I was thinking we could sit in the library tonight in complete silence and stare at each other across from whatever we need to be studying.”

Lafayette grins at her, “You’re charming.” he compliments, “and that sounds great.”

Adrienne raises her eyebrows, “You’d accept that as a date?” she asks.

“It’s an excuse to look at you,” Laf says, “personally I think once a week is not enough time for me to be able to see you, so I was wondering if adding to whatever you had in mind, you would like to join me on a double date.”

Adrienne smiles, “With who?”

“One of my roommates, Alexander.” he says, “he’s trying to impress this girl, so he asked me what rich people do on dates, so I told him to take her wine tasting. And it was mostly a joke but I do owe him a favor so I actually offered to go with and pay under the table. I was hoping you would come along to make me look less suspicious.”

“I do like wine.” Adrienne says, “will there be cheese?”

“There might be cheese,” Laf says, taking note to make sure there is definitely cheese; he remembers something then, “Are you twenty-one?”

Adrienne shrugs, “Maybe.” she says, then she gives him a kiss on the cheek and heads back to her seat.

…

Adrienne and Laf had finished working on whatever they needed to be studying. They had been sitting together for hours, Lafayette having talked her into going to lunch with him before they arrived at the library. They were now talking in hushed voices, and anyone who had been sitting near them had long since moved away.

“You know what the dumbest thing I’ve ever done is?” Adrienne says in French, and Lafayette watches her eagerly, “Well, I’ve done a lot of dumb things, but this one time when I was nine my sister and I were outside, and for some reason we only had one bike between us. So we had decided we would take turns riding the bike and whoever wasn’t riding would run along side it.”

“Ingenious.” Lafayette whispers, and Adrienne shoves him and giggles.

“Anyways,” she says, “I was wearing one of my nice dresses, because I snuck back out after we got home from mosque. I was technically grounded.”

“Why were you grounded?” Lafayette asks.

“Oh, I don’t remember. Something silly, I’m sure.” she says, “my parents are a little conservative, traditional French values and the like.”

“Do they know you’re here in the states misbehaving?” Laf asks playfully.

“Of course they don’t.” Adrienne says, “now let me finish my story. So, I decided I wanted to run on the other side of my sisters bike, for some reason. So I ran what I thought was far enough ahead of her and tried to cross in front of her.”

“Oh, no.” Laf says, smiling.

“Shut _up.”_ Adrienne giggles, “so she hit my ankle and I fell, but I was lucky because I landed in the grass. But somehow I didn’t just _fall_ in the grass, I slammed into it and I was covered in dirt - ”

“Your nice dress.” Laf gasps, and Adrienne nods.

“Yes, exactly, my nice dress was covered in dirt. It was a long sleeved, cream color, too, and it was _covered_ and so was my face. But my sister,” she winces, “my sister got launched off the bike like it was a catapult and landed in the middle of the street.”

“Yikes,” Lafayette says.

“Yes, yikes.” Adrienne says, “she was covered in blood so I ran home and I ran in the kitchen and my mom was like, _what happened to your dress?! I thought you were upstairs!_ And I was like, Rosalie is dying so there’s no time to yell at me, we have to go.”

Lafayette laughs quietly, “I can’t believe you almost killed your sister.”

“Well, I got punished for almost killing her, so don’t worry.” Adrienne assures him, “my mom was so mad at me. Did you ever do anything stupid like that.”

Laf thinks about it, “One time when I was really tiny, I apparently got my head stuck in a vase.”

Adrienne laughs, “How on earth did you manage that?”

Lafayette is smiling, “I don’t remember. But my aunt couldn’t get my head out so she had to break the vase as gently as she could. Apparently she was crying the whole time.”

“Oh my god.” Adrienne says, “where were your _parents?”_

Laf sighs and changes the subject, “Another time I got my head stuck in between the rails on the stairway.”

Adrienne laughs even harder, “What is it with you and getting your head stuck places?”

“I don’t know.” Lafayette says, “I don’t remember any of it. My aunt tells the story to guests a lot.”

“Your aunt sounds amazing.” Adrienne says, “I don’t think I ever got my head stuck in anything.”

“You just tried to kill your sister.” Laf says, and she shoves him and they both laugh.

…

Lafayette makes Alexander wait in the car while he walks Adrienne back to her dorm room.

“Can you leave the keys?” Alex asks, “I don’t want to be stuck out here if you end up getting laid.”

Laf rolls his eyes, “I’m not going to get laid, she’s had too much to drink.” he assures him in a quiet voice, and then shuts the door.

Adrienne appears almost entirely sober, except for the fact that her cheeks are a little flushed with color and she’s holding her tongue even less tonight. She’s only speaking in French, “I had a wonderful time.”

“As did I.” Laf says, smiling to himself. They stop outside of her room and she turns and wraps her arms around his neck; his heart beats very fast in his chest, but he puts his hands gently on her shoulders to keep her from doing anything she shouldn’t, “I think you’ve had just a bit too much.”

Adrienne rolls her eyes, “I’m just trying to thank you for the wine.” she says, “and for the cheese. And for introducing me to two very nice people.”

“They are very nice,” Laf says, “and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Maybe we can go back sometime, just the two of us.”

Adrienne smiles, her eyes lidded, and leans down and presses an open mouthed kiss to his jaw. Lafayette lets himself enjoy it for just a second, but then he pushes her back gently, “You’ve had too much to drink.” he tells her firmly.

Adrienne heaves a sigh, “I knew what I was doing.” she says, “and I know what I’m going to do.” she leans up and presses another kiss to his jawline, this time much higher, right underneath his ear, then whispers, “I’m going to think about you while I masturbate tonight.”

Lafayette gasps softly, but then she peels herself off of him and unlocks the door to her room, “Goodnight, _mon beau.”_ she says affectionately, and then disappears.

Laf rubs the spot where she kissed him, “Goodnight.” he whispers, even though she’s already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all three of the childhood stories are based on shit i did. yes i got my head stuck in a vase, yes they had to break it to get me out, yes i got my head stuck in between the rails on the stairs and yes i was in a bike accident, except i was the one that got launched off my bike. rip.
> 
> also yea adrienne is muslim, but she doesn't wear hijab or any other headdress 
> 
> also i couldn't figure out if you say "we went to mosque" like you say "we went to church/temple" or if you say "we went to the mosque" so i went with the first one


	3. Chapter 3

The first time Lafayette actually makes it inside of Adrienne’s dorm room is not at the end nor the beginning of a date, but rather a favor he’s doing for her. “You’re the only person I know who’s completely fluent in French.” Adrienne explains to him after class one day, “So I was wondering if you could proofread an essay I’ve been working on, because if I try to send it to one of my sisters they won’t respond to me until ten years after the due date.”

Adrienne’s side of her dorm room is modestly decorated, although she clearly hasn’t dedicated much time or thought to it’s aesthetic. Her roommate is there, and as soon as Adrienne walks in with Lafayette at her heels she groans, grabs her back and leaves them, shutting the door a little forcefully.

Laf raises his eyebrows, “Someone’s not a fan of you.”

“Someone’s not a fan of my many, many boyfriends.” Adrienne corrects sarcastically, “or my many, many girlfriends” she adds, and he laughs. She sits down on the bed and leans against the wall, opening her laptop. He sits down next to her, not so close that their shoulders touch but close enough that if she wanted to lean against him, it wouldn’t be hard. She pulls the essay up, passes the laptop to him and rests her head on his shoulder. Lafayette smiles, “What’s this about?”

“ _ Les Amants Magnifiques.”  _ Adrienne tells him, and then goes ahead and switches to speaking French, “I had to pick a Molière play to analyze. Have you ever seen it?”

“No,” Laf says, and he’s about to continue, but she cuts him off.

“Good,” Adrienne says, “you can read it as someone who has no idea what it’s about and let me know if it makes any sense.”

Laf chuckles, “Okay, sure.”

Adrienne snuggles a bit closer to him and sighs against his shoulder; Lafayette catches himself blushing over it and starts reading. They lapse into silence, and eventually she stops trying to figure out where he is in the essay and instead closes her eyes to doze against him. 

When he finishes he glances down at her and smiles, then nudges her; she opens her eyes and sits back up, “Are you done?”

“Yeah,” Laf says, “I fixed a couple grammar mistakes, but that was really it. I was a little confused at the start of the third paragraph,” he shows her where, “but it made sense by the time I was finished with it. It’s a good paper.”

“Thank you.” Adrienne says, “do you think it’s an A?”

“I would say so.” Laf tells her, sinking down a little further and slipping an arm around her waist. Adrienne hums, leaning against him for a moment, but then she pushes his hand off of her and stands up off the bed.

“As much as I would love to,” she says, “I need this paper to be an A. So I need you to shoo so I can perfect it.”

Laf smiles, “Can’t have me here distracting you?”

Adrienne rolls her eyes, and Lafayette sits up and climbs off her bed, headed for the door, “If you need me to read anything else - ”

“I’ll give you a call.” Adrienne says, following behind him, “Thank you for coming by, Gilbert.”

He shivers at the sound of his name again, “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Well, if I’d known anyone else who spoke French, I would have picked them over you.” Adrienne teases, opening the door for him.

He nods, amused, “I would expect nothing more.”

She grabs the sleeve of his hoodie as he’s stepping out the door, forcing him to turn and face her, “Text me.” she says, sweetly, “seriously, text me later. If I’m still up after one, force me to go to sleep.”

“I can think of more than one way to do that.” Laf says, and Adrienne rolls her eyes again.

“I wouldn’t put it past you to come over here in the middle of the night to try to get laid.” she says, amused; she plants her hands on both of his shoulders and kisses him, as if it’s no big deal. Lafayette hardly has time to react to it before she pulls away from him, clearly satisfied with herself, then says, “Goodnight, Gilbert.”

She closes the door on him, and his presses two of his fingers to his lips, savoring what just happened, “Goodnight.” he whispers.

…

Class is canceled the next week, on account of the teacher just not wanting to come out in the bitter cold. Lafayette thinks about texting Adrienne to ask if she wants to go over anything with him, but he ends up thinking better of himself. He’s still not sure what he would have to say to her if he saw her.

It snows on Saturday, and Laf is holed up in the living room with John, Hercules, Aaron and Theo watching Legally Blonde when his phone goes off. Hercules gives him a look for interrupting the scene, so he puts his phone on silent and sits up to read it; as he opens it, another text comes in.

Adrienne:  _ are you free rn _

Adrienne:  _ my roommate is busy getting laid and she kicked me out and told me not to come back tonight and i dont wanna sleep in the hall lol _

Lafayette frowns, then texts back,  _ is it still snowing outside? _

It only takes a moment for her to respond, something he’s not used to when she reaches out to him,  _ not super hard. can i come over? _

Another text,  _ i’ll sleep on the couch _

And another,  _ or the floor lol _

Another,  _ it’s cold as shit _

_ Do you want me to pick you up?  _ Laf sends her.

_ Send me the address.  _ Is all the says. Full stop, period, which is how she normally texts and Laf can never read her tone. He sends her the address and waits.

After a few minutes, she replies  _ are you sure i can come over? _

_ Yes.  _ Laf says, then looks up, “Can Adrienne come over?” he asks, only intending to accept their responses if they’re positive.

“Damn, you wanna fuck her here?” John asks, not looking up from his phone, and Theo laughs. 

Lafayette frowns at him, “Her roommate kicked her out, she wants to know if she can come over here.” he says.

“So you can fuck?” John asks, and this time Hercules and Aaron laugh, too.

Laf rolls his eyes and looks back at his phone, “I’m telling her yes.” he says, even though he already has. There’s one new message from her  _ i’ll be there in ten minutes ;) _

Laf swallows and turns his phone off, tucking it back in the pocket of his pajama pants, but he doesn’t sink back down onto the couch. After a moment of trying and failing to drag his concentration back to the TV, Hercules finally says, “Laf, you’re stiff as a board. It’s throwing off the whole balance of the couch. Chill out or move.”

Laf stands and moves to the single seat, which Aaron and Theo usually try to share, but tonight they’ve decided to be slightly less disgustingly cute and they’re cuddled on the love seat instead. When the doorbell finally rings Laf jumps up to get it, as if anyone else is going to try to answer it. Adrienne is standing in the yellow light of the hallway, wearing clothes that clearly weren’t made to be worn in snow. She has on a coat, but it’s clearly not doing a good job of keeping her warm, because she’s faintly shivering, and she’s also only wearing sweatpants and a pair of sneakers. Her thick hair is tied up in a bun and she doesn’t have any makeup on. There are flecks of snow in her hair. She offers him a weak smile, “Can I come in?” she asks in French.

“Yes.” Laf says, stepping to the side, “Sorry, you look like you’re freezing.”

“I am.” Adrienne says. She wipes her feet on the mat, then looks up at the rest of the people in the room, “Hi,” she says, in English, “Sorry to intrude, I’m Adrienne.”

“We’ve heard a lot about you.” Hercules says, and Laf frowns at him from behind Adrienne.

“We hear you’re French, and gorgeous.” Theo adds, and Adrienne smiles, her cheeks flushing faintly; Theo continues, “do you want to join us for the rest of Legally Blonde?”

Adrienne shakes her head, “No, thank you, sorry, I was about to get ready for bed when my roommate came in and kicked me out.” she looks back at Laf, “I kinda just want to lay down, if there’s anywhere I can do that.”

Lafayette and Hercules share a look, and then Hercules sighs and rolls his eyes and says, “You can take my spot in our room, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“You can sleep with me in my room.” John says very bluntly, still not looking up from his phone; for a moment Laf is taken aback, thinking he’s addressing Adrienne, but then he realizes he’s talking to Hercules, “Alex is spending the night with Eliza, so I’m short one cuddle buddy.”

“Done.” Hercules says, then looks back at Adrienne, “you sure you don’t wanna finish off Legally Blonde with us?”

“I’m sure; thank you, though.” Adrienne says, and Laf places a hand gently on her lower back and leads her to his room; Theo coos as they leave and Laf shuts the door.

Adrienne stays in her coat a few minutes longer, “You share a bed?” she asks in French after a few minutes, and Laf rubs the back of his neck.

“Yeah.” he says, “not, like, in a datey kind of way. It’s more like, a close friend kind of way. The shared body heat is just nice sometimes.” he pauses, “if you don’t want to share it with me, of course I understand. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No, it’s fine.” Adrienne says, “My roommate would never do that with me.”

“So I gathered.” Laf says, “why doesn’t she like you, exactly?”

“She says I bring too many people by the dorm.” Adrienne says, finally taking her coat off to reveal the top half of a pale pink bodysuit that’s tucked into her sweatpants. No wonder she was so cold.

Laf looks away, “Can I ask, do you tease everyone you plan on having sex with like this?”

“Who says we’re going to have sex?” Adrienne asks playfully, slipping her shoes off, “and no, just you. By the way, this is not how I would normally leave the house when it’s twenty degrees outside. I was given maybe thirty seconds to prepare before I got pushed out of the room. I might be a slut, but I’m not trying to get hypothermia.”

Laf smiles, chuckling a little, before he glances back at her, “You’re very beautiful.” he tells her.

Adrienne smiles softly, “I know.”

Laf huffs, grinning, and looks away again, “Are you sure you’re okay with sharing the bed with me? I can sleep on the couch.”

“I’m sure.” Adrienne says, walking closer to him.

She places a hand on his arm, and he flinches away from her, “Your hands are fucking cold.” he says, startled; he turns and places a hand on her arm, “you’re still freezing, how are you not shivering?”

Adrienne shrugs, leaning closer to him and placing her hands on his shoulders, “I was hoping you could warm me up.”

Laf hesitates, blushing and looking at the door of the room, “All my friends are one room over.” he says.

“No sex,” Adrienne tells him, “just kissing, is that okay?”

Laf swallows, “They’re going to think we’re doing something else.”

“You’re very impatient until I’m actually offering to do something with you.” Adrienne observes, raising her eyebrows, and Laf smiles sheepishly, still watching the door. She takes one hand off his shoulder and tilts it towards her, “Gilbert,” she says coyly, and he whines a little bit, “will you kiss on me?”

Laf pauses, “You kissed me.” he says.

“Well, you proofread my paper.” Adrienne points out, and he laughs softly.

“So it was just a transactional kiss?” he asks, and she smiles, her eyes sparkling, “what’s this payment for?”

“I’m cold.” she says very simply, and he laughs again, a bit louder this time.

He moves finally, resting his hands on her hips and holding her firmly but gently, “Are you ever going to tell me why you’re being such a tease?”

“Maybe.” Adrienne says, “are you ever going to kiss me?”

“Maybe.” Lafayette counters, and she pouts, “see, it’s not very fun.”

Rather than responding, she ducks her head and presses a languid, open mouthed kiss to his jawline, just under his ear, the same place she’s been leaving kisses. He closes his eyes, rubbing circles on her hips as she continues, leaving a trail of kisses on his jaw and his neck. After a moment, he slides on hand up her back to the back of her neck, pausing there.

“Can I take your hair down?” he asks, trying to keep his voice steady. She hums affirmatively and he fiddles with the thin band holding her hair up, trying to get it out, but he impatiently gives up after a moment and snaps it instead. Her hair falls down, and he drops the broken band on the floor and cards his hand through it, pulling her away from kissing his neck and pressing his lips  to hers fervently.

She responds eagerly, again placing her hands on his shoulders and pressing herself against him. They stand there for a few moments, kissing ardently, until she finally pulls away for a moment to breathe. He doesn’t waste a second, leaning down and pressing kisses to her neck anywhere he can reach; she smiles, blushing deeply as he holds her tightly.

“You’re very warm.” she says breathlessly.

…

“That’s not the same shirt you had on last night.” John observes the next morning, startling Lafayette, who didn’t see him come in the kitchen.

He glances at him, “Stop doing that.” he tells him, “I took my shirt off to sleep.”

“In the same bed as the girl you have a crush on.” John points out, and Laf rolls his eyes, but it’s so early Laf doesn’t even bother to argue with him. Not that he would have a very good defense, anyways.

Lafayette doesn’t answer him, so John slides up next to him to watch him while he waits for the water in the kettle to boil. John rests his chin on his shoulder, “How far did you get?” he asks, his face knowing.

Lafayette pushes him off gently, obviously blushing, “Shut up, Jack.” he says, but there’s no real venom in it.

“You didn’t get anywhere?” John asks, and Laf rolls his eyes.

“Second base.” he says after a few moments of silence.

John coos, “Wow, second base.” he says, “and it only took you two months! Usually it takes you twenty minutes.”

Laf picks the kettle up as soon as it starts to whistle and pours the water into two mugs, “Adrienne is different.” he says after a moment of hesitation.

“Ooh,” John says, “different how.”

“Stop being a dick, John.” Laf snaps, then pauses while he’s getting two tea bags out, “sorry.” he adds, “but, you’re kind of being a dick.”

John stares at him for a second, then asks in a less mocking voice, “Different how?”

Laf pauses, “Different like…” he looks at his door to make sure it’s still closed, and she’s not approaching, “different like I like her a lot.” he picks the two mugs up, now with the tea bags in them, “different like, she spent the night last night and all we did was kissing and petting and she’s still asleep but I made her tea and I’m probably gonna take her to breakfast and walk her to class.”

…

Lafayette does take Adrienne to get breakfast, after making sure she has warmer clothes to walk around in. Theo lets her borrow a pair of leggings to wear underneath her sweatpants, and Laf lends her one of his sweatshirts to wear between her bodysuit and her coat. She also has to borrow a hairband from Theo, since Laf broke hers; Adrienne usually straightens her hair, but this morning it’s somewhat frizzy and wavy, and Lafayette thinks it’s a good look on her.

He takes her to a little cafe and buys her breakfast, although it’s more of a brunch since neither of them had a morning class and it took them a while to leave the apartment. They sit down in a corner booth, and Adrienne slides in next to Laf instead of sitting across from him, because she’s still cold from the short walk there, and Lafayette practically radiates warmth. He puts an arm around her waist and presses his face against her head. He wouldn’t admit it, but he does so specifically to smell her hair, because she smells very good.

“How important is sex to you in a relationship?” she asks nonchalantly in French after the waiter has taken their drink orders. She’s more comfortable covering the topic in public in French, but she still keeps her voice low lest someone overhear and understand.

Laf considers this, “Pretty important.” he says after a moment, “I mean, not most important, but, like, top five.”

Adrienne hums, “Do you still just want to have sex with me?”

Laf sighs, “I like spending time with you, Adrienne.” he says sweetly, “but I think I’d also like fucking you into the mattress.” he adds in a low voice, and she shivers.

“I might take you up on that, eventually.” she says.

“Really?” he asks, feigning shock, his eyebrows raised.

“Maybe.” she says, and he rubs his thumb against her hip and presses his face back against her head.


	4. Chapter 4

Lafayette is waiting for Adrienne when she gets off the train in Loches; he’s standing with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. His face is half buried in his scarf as he watches Adrienne get off of the train. She spots him immediately; not many people are waiting at the station in the cold.

She walks over to him quickly; she’s wearing a beige peacoat and dark pants, and her hair is pulled up into an elegant ponytail. It’s probably the most modestly dressed he’s ever seen her. Rather that greeting him with words, she pulls his scarf down to uncover his mouth and kisses him. He’s surprised by her bluntness, but nonetheless happy about the gesture. He takes his hands out of his pockets and holds her close to him while they kiss for a long moment.

Finally, she pulls away from him and immediately tucks her face into the crook of his neck. “I missed you.” she says quietly, her accent much thicker than it usually is, and Laf smiles.

“I missed you, too.” he says, “not having you around to tease me until I think I’m going to die made the holidays very boring.”

Adrienne huffs, “Not having you around made everything boring.” she says, “I love my sisters but I can only listen to them so much, and my parents will only let me get away with being on my phone for so long.”

Lafayette just hums, and after a moment Adrienne opens her eyes and frowns, “Are you sniffing my hair?” she asks.

“Maybe.” is all he says, and she pulls away from me.

“Unbelievable,” she says, feigning disgust, “it took me almost the entire break to convince my parents to let me come here, alone, and now I have to get right back onto the train.”

“No, no, no.” he says quickly, grabbing her hands as she tries to pull away from him; he pulls her back into a hug, “I missed you too much.”

Adrienne rolls her eyes, “Can we go? It’s fucking cold.”

“Yes,” Laf agrees, “it hasn’t snowed in Loches since I was like, seven, so it  _ is _ fucking cold.”

Adrienne laughs as he leads her up the stairs and onto the street, where snow is falling in small flurries, “It’s cold in Courpalay, too.” she says, reaching down and taking his hand in hers; his heart all but skips a beat, “and I swear I thought I was never going to get to come and see you before the break was over. My parents did not want me to leave the house.”

“I thought you said you don’t really celebrate any winter holidays?” Laf asks.

“We don’t,” Adrienne says, “I mean, New Years, but that’s it. They just hate that I’m so far away when I’m at school and they never used to let me leave town when I lived with them.” she gives him an exasperated look, “they hardly ever let me leave during the summer. I have to watch my sisters.”

“Wow, that really makes me look forward to the summer.” Lafayette says nervously.

…

“My parents hate when I ride the train alone,” Adrienne complains as they arrive to his house, “which is stupid because I’m 20 and I’m an adult and I’m old enough to buy alcohol, I should be old enough to ride the train by myself.”

Lafayette smiles at her, “You seem very frustrated with this.”

“I’ve been having this argument with them since I was like sixteen,” Adrienne said, “my mom tried to force Louise to come with me, and I was like, no way I’m old enough to go alone. Then she tried to force me to take Rosaline, like, to see the city or whatever, but I argued my way out of that, too, after like three days. Then Clotilde wanted to come with me, and my mom thought that was a  _ great  _ idea, and it took me another two days to argue my way out of  _ that _ .”

“Well, I don’t know,” Lafayette says, “are your sisters as pretty as you? Maybe next time you should let them come with.”

Adrienne gives him a look, “Clotilde is seventeen.”

“Never mind.” he says quickly.

“And besides, if I brought my sisters I would be in so much hot water,” she continues, “my parents think I’m meeting a friend who is a  _ girl.  _ If my sisters came and I met you, I wouldn’t be able to kiss you or touch you or sit close to you because if my parents find out I’m seeing someone they’re going to demand to meet you and your parents and your whole entire family and you’re not ready for that.”

Lafayette turns the car off, “Wouldn’t be much to meet,” he says sleetingly, “Isn’t Louise older than you? You should bring her next time.”

“Stick to trying to get into my pants.” Adrienne says, clearly a bit miffed.

Laf smiles, “Isn’t Louise the one with the name?”

Adrienne rolls her eyes, “You’re the one with the name.”

“But her name is as long as mine.” Laf says.

Adrienne sighs, “How badly do you want me to say it?”

“I’ll pay you.” Laf says.

Adrienne hums, “Promise to kiss on me when we get inside.”

“Deal.” Laf says quickly.

“Anne Jeanne Baptiste Pauline Adrienne Louise Catherine Dominique de Noailles.” Adrienne reminds him, and he smiles.

“I’m not the only one with a long ass name,” he says happily, “what’s your full name?”

“I already told you I’m not going to tell you.” she says playfully, unbuckling her seatbelt, “besides, it’s nowhere near as long. They got all of the name’s out of the way with Louise. They literally had to recycle some of them for me.”

“Please?” Lafayette asks, and she shakes her head, reaching over and opening the passenger door.

Laf follows her out of the car, “You should tell me otherwise I’m not unlocking my house.” he says.

“That’s a fucking bluff,” she says knowingly, “you’re already shivering.”

“Tell me your full name,” he whines, and she rolls her eyes.

“ [ Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles ](https://gw.geneanet.org/frebault?lang=en&pz=henri&nz=frebault&ocz=0&p=marie+adrienne+francoise&n=de+noailles) .” she says after a moment, and he beams, “now you owe me a make out session and you have to take me to dinner later.”

“What a deal.” Lafayette says, “I guess I can let you inside now.”

Adrienne seems vaguely taken aback when they enter the house, and he notices, “Do you like it?” he asks sarcastically.

“It looks like your grandmother did your decorating.” she comments.

“Ah,” he says, leaning against the back of the couch, “good eye. She did. This was her house.”

“You live at your grandmother's house?” Adrienne asks.

“Sometimes,” Laf says, “I’m kind of sorry I didn’t decide to stay in Chavaniac-Lafayette. It would’ve been warmer, but the train ride for you would’ve taken even longer.”

“Chavaniac-Lafayette?” she questions.

“It is not my fault my family has some long, influential bloodline.” Laf says, “it just matters to my aunt that one day I have a son. Or maybe a gay daughter who will be the one who keeps the name.”

Adrienne laughs, then pauses, “So, is your grandmother… here?”

Laf huffs, “I wish,” he says, “she’s dead.”

Adrienne winces, “Oh, god, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, she died when I was like nine.” he looks around, “Redecorating a house just sounds like a lot of work and I’m never here. And it also feels rude. Although my room isn’t decorated like this,” he gestures vaguely, “so if you want to go in there to, uh, warm up, we can do that. If you want.”

She looks at him smuggly, “Gilbert, are you blushing?”

Laf blushes harder, “I missed you a lot,” he says, not looking at her, “and I really want to kiss you.”

Adrienne smiles, “You’re such a sweetheart.” she says after a moment, and Laf looks back at her, “I really genuinely thought you were just flirting with me to have sex with me.”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would still like to have sex with you.” Laf says, and Adrienne laughs, “but I mean, I also,” he hesitates, then changes his mind, “I like you.” he says instead, “so, um, would you like to come make out with me?”

“Just making out?” Adrienne asks; she almost sounds a little disappointed. Laf nods, so she unbuttons her coat and slides it off her shoulders.

Laf stands up from where he’s leaned against the couch to take her coat, and he hangs it by the door, following it with his own. He turns back to look at her, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I honestly didn’t expect you to be wearing a long sleeved shirt.”

Adrienne laughs, “I wish.” she says, “But it’s cold. And my parents would throw a fit if they saw me in anything I want to wear around you.”

Lafayette blushes again, but this time he’s smiling, “That sounds promising.” he says, “any chance I could convince you to send me pictures next time you’re wearing something you do want to wear around me?”

Adrienne smiles coyly, “Let’s see if you can’t get me out of this after we eat,” she says, referring to her modest outfit, “then you can see what I have on underneath. But for now let’s go kiss.”

…

“Adrienne?” Lafayette asks hesitantly; they’re sitting at the table in the kitchen, almost done eating. She looks up at him silently; he takes a deep breath then says, “I need to tell you two things.”

“Two things?” she asks, and he nods, “why not three?”

“Adrienne,” Laf says seriously, “you’re very cute, and I appreciate that endlessly, but I’m really, really serious right now.”

The amusement drops off of her face, “Okay.” she says, “tell me two things.”

Lafayette takes another deep breath, “I think I’m in love with you.”

Adrienne raises her eyebrows, “You think?”

“I am.” Laf corrects himself, “I am in love with you. I’m so in love with you Adrienne.”

She smiles softly at him, “What’s the second thing?”

Laf pauses, unsure of how to continue based on her response, but he pushes forward, “Adrienne, I’m really in love with you, but that scares the shit out of me because I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how you feel about me.” he reaches across the table and takes her hand in his, “I really want to be with you, but I can’t let myself keep thinking that if this is just a long game of playing hard to get for you.” he takes another deep breath, then he says, “I have really bad abandonment issues. When my dad died I got handed off between relatives who kept dying for some reason, until I finally landed with my aunt. My point is, if you’re planning on just having sex with me - or never having sex with me - or never being serious with me, please tell me now so I can prepare for that instead of just getting more and more attached.”

Adrienne is quiet for a moment, “Gilbert, I love you, too.” she says quietly, “I don’t - I mean - I don’t  _ want _ to leave you. I like being with you - you’re funny and you’re sweet to me and you’re very gorgeous and you’re  _ clearly _ in love with me - ”

“Your confidence is normally attractive and frankly arousing but please continue the seriousness for ten more seconds.” Laf says quietly.

“Sure thing,” Adrienne says, smiling, “I’m in love with you, too, Gilbert.”

Lafayette smiles, and he looks a bit goofy, “Would you please be my girlfriend, Arienne?”

She shrugs, “Maybe.”

“Shut up,” he says, laughing, “you’re the worst.”

“There’s probably some truth to that.” she says, smiling at him, “I would love to be your girlfriend. Will you come here and kiss on me?”

“I’ll do you one better.” he says; he stands up out of his chair and leans towards her, wrapping his arm arms around her waist and lifting her up out of her chair.

She squeals as he picks her up and readjusts, holding her close against him; he presses a kiss to her jawline, the same place she always kisses him to tease him. She wraps her arms around his shoulders, smiling, “Gilbert, this is your grandmother’s house.” she teases.

“I’m twenty-two, I’m confident she will forgive me.” Laf says.

“I don’t know. Premarital sex is a sin.” Adrienne says.

“You’re not even Christian.” Laf argues. 

“Maybe I’ll convert and become a nun.” 

“Oh, I think it’s far too late for that.”

“I don’t know  _ what  _ you mean.” Adrienne protests, “I am a  _ virgin _ ! What is  _ sex _ ?!”

Lafayette laughs, lightly at first, but then he starts to laugh harder; Adrienne smiles at him, confused, “Why are you laughing?”

He takes a breath, then says, “I thought when we got to this point, the only things I would want to say to you would be incredibly filthy things. I’ve put a lot of thought into this dirty talk. But I’m holding you and we’re talking about you becoming a nun.”

Adrienne grins, “And yet, you still have a semi.”

He laughs again, and then suddenly he twirls her around and she squeals, which then dissolves into giggling, “Adrienne,” he says lovingly, “Adrienne, you make me so happy.”

She blushes, tucking her face into the crook of his neck until she’s finished giggling, then she looks back up at him, “So you don’t think I should become a nun?”

Lafayette hums deeply, “I love you so much.” he says, and kisses her.


End file.
